Mick Jagger Says Paul McCartney Nailed ‘Foreign Tongues’ Bass Part in 10 Minutes

Jagger says McCartney delivered the overdriven punk bass part the song needed without any fuss.

Mick Jagger says recording with Paul McCartney for the Rolling Stones’ forthcoming album ‘Foreign Tongues’ was a smooth, no-drama session. Speaking to NME, Jagger revealed that McCartney, who plays bass on the track ‘Covered In You’, completed his part in roughly 10 minutes during the same session in which he recorded his contribution to the band’s 2023 album ‘Hackney Diamonds’.

Jagger on McCartney in the Studio

Jagger was candid about his expectations going in. He told NME he had flagged to producer Andy Watt that the song required a specific approach: ‘Is he gonna be into this because it’s a punk tune and I want overdriven bass. It’s gonna be simple, no mucking about.’ McCartney, apparently, had no trouble with that brief.

‘It was very easy,’ Jagger said. ‘Obviously, I’ve known Paul for ages. He’s not a stranger, but he’s never played bass with us before. It’s a different thing, you know?’ He added that McCartney ‘did exactly what was needed in, like, 10 minutes.’

Jagger also noted that the bass part on ‘Covered In You’ has a different character from McCartney’s previous Stones contribution. ‘The new tune is more of a funk bass part,’ he explained, contrasting it with the work McCartney did on ‘Bite My Head Off’ from ‘Hackney Diamonds’.

McCartney’s Own Take on the Session

McCartney, speaking separately to NME, made clear he was anything but indifferent about the invitation. ‘You could be a bit blasé and go, “Yeah, OK, so what?” But for me, it wasn’t, it went the other way,’ he said.

He described walking into the studio and being struck by the moment: ‘It was like, “Wow, there’s Mick [Jagger]! Ooh, there’s Keith [Richards]! Woah, there’s Ronnie [Wood]!” It was exciting. It was really good. A great thing is all I had to do was play bass and not make mistakes, so it was good.’

McCartney said he went home and told everyone about the experience. ‘I just played with The Stones!’ he recalled saying. ‘I was glad I wasn’t blasé about it. It’s really exciting. Not everyone plays with The Stones!’

A Long History Between Two Rock Dynasties

The McCartney-Stones connection stretches back to the earliest days of British rock. McCartney and John Lennon co-wrote ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, the Stones’ second single, in 1963. The Stones’ Brian Jones contributed briefly to ‘Yellow Submarine’, and Jagger helped work on ‘Baby, You’re a Rich Man’. The two camps also shared a stage in 1968 for a performance of ‘Yer Blues’, and Jagger later inducted the Beatles into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

That decades-long mutual respect makes the ‘Foreign Tongues’ collaboration feel less like a celebrity cameo and more like a continuation of an ongoing conversation between the two most consequential acts in rock history.

A Star-Studded Guest List on ‘Foreign Tongues’

McCartney is one of several high-profile contributors to the album, which is set for release on July 10. The full guest roster, as reported, includes:

• Paul McCartney — bass on ‘Covered In You’
• Robert Smith (The Cure) — ‘Divine Intervention’
• Bruno Mars — cowbell on ‘Never Wanna Lose You’
• Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) — cover of Chuck Berry’s ‘Beautiful Delilah’

Jagger Already Writing for the Next Album

Retirement is not on the agenda. Jagger told NME he has already begun writing new material, though he is open to some of it going to other artists rather than the Stones. ‘When you write a song, you sometimes decide “that’s not for me, but it could be for the Chili Peppers” or whatever,’ he said. ‘I’m very open-minded to it. I’ve got a lot of stuff, and not all of it’s suitable for The Rolling Stones. It shouldn’t stop me writing them.’

What we know

• The Rolling Stones’ album ‘Foreign Tongues’ is scheduled for release on July 10.
• Paul McCartney plays bass on the ‘Foreign Tongues’ track ‘Covered In You’.
• McCartney recorded his ‘Covered In You’ bass part in the same session as his contribution to ‘Hackney Diamonds’, the Stones’ 2023 album.
• Mick Jagger told NME that McCartney completed the bass part in approximately 10 minutes.
• Other guest contributors to ‘Foreign Tongues’ include Robert Smith, Bruno Mars, and Chad Smith.
• Jagger told NME he has already begun writing songs for a potential next album.
• McCartney and John Lennon co-wrote the Stones’ second single ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ in 1963.

The take

The McCartney cameo on ‘Foreign Tongues’ fits a pattern the Stones have leaned into more deliberately since ‘Hackney Diamonds’: recruiting guests who carry genuine historical weight rather than chasing contemporary chart relevance. McCartney on bass is not a marketing stunt; it is a callback to a rivalry-turned-friendship that shaped the entire architecture of rock and roll. What is notable here is Jagger’s framing of the session as a craft conversation. He had a specific sonic demand, overdriven punk bass, and McCartney delivered it cleanly and quickly. That speaks to McCartney’s underappreciated versatility as a bassist; he has always been one of the instrument’s most melodically inventive players, and adapting to a stripped-down punk context in 10 minutes is not a trivial ask. The Stones’ decision to stack ‘Foreign Tongues’ with guests across genres, from Robert Smith’s post-punk sensibility to Bruno Mars’ funk instincts to Chad Smith’s hard rock backbone, suggests the band is treating the album as a kind of summit meeting rather than a conventional studio record. For a band operating without Charlie Watts, these collaborations also serve a practical function: they bring in players with strong individual identities who can help define the texture of individual tracks. Historically, the Stones have always absorbed outside influences without losing their center of gravity. ‘Foreign Tongues’ looks like another test of that resilience.

Why it matters

For Classic Rock fans, a McCartney-Stones studio collaboration is the kind of event that feels like it should have happened decades ago and somehow keeps feeling fresh. The two acts defined competing poles of British Invasion rock, and every point of intersection carries outsized symbolic weight. Beyond the nostalgia, the ‘Foreign Tongues’ guest list signals that the Stones remain a gravitational force capable of pulling in artists across generations and genres. That matters for the broader classic rock ecosystem, where legacy acts increasingly need to demonstrate continued creative relevance rather than simply trading on catalog.

What’s next

The Rolling Stones’ album ‘Foreign Tongues’ is due for release on July 10. Jagger has indicated he is already writing new material, with some songs potentially being offered to other artists rather than held for a future Stones record.

Frequently asked questions

Related coverage

• Rolling Stones Announce New Album ‘Foreign Tongues,’ featuring McCartney, Winwood, and others
• Mick Jagger Names Favorite Stones Albums and Takes a Shot at Some Girls
• Mick Jagger Surprises Oxford Pub With Impromptu Folk Song Performance